Apr 28, 2011

We were at Grotto Vista Resort in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan last Black Saturday to celebrate my niece's birthday and just to take a breather from the oppressing summer heat. I know that there will be many people at pools and resort, but I was not prepared for the sheer number of people at the Grotto Vista!
Being a holiday, entrance was P175 for adults and P125 for kids against the usual P150 and P100. Despite the number of people, there was adequate parking and push carts. Paying at the counter and entering the resort was very systematic so we did not take long in the lines. There were a lot of staff present to assist us.
There are several pools at Grotto Vista but I was only able to see 2 of them: the one pictured below and the kiddie pool where my kids stayed the whole day.
There were so many cottages to choose from and these giant slides were very popular too!
Nipa huts like these are available, as well as several types of cottages depending on how many you are in the group. There were enough wash area but I didn't like that there was a designated grill area and you had to wait your turn to grill your food. This is the kiddie pool. It was big and I lost my kids several times here! I cant pick them out from the sheer number of kids swimming!
There were also showers like these, as well as covered areas near the pool.
There was a show while we were at Grotto Vista. There were dancers, singers and stand up comedians. Good thing that our cottage was near the stage so we enjoyed the show very much.
Unfortunately, it was standing room only at the pool!
However when it was time to go home, despite the numerous shower rooms, we had to wait a long time before we can take a shower. There were just too many people! All in all, it was a very enjoyable day for the kids. The adults enjoyed the show although most of us in the group didn't bother to swim. We just enjoyed ourselves watching the kids have a grand time!Finally, it was time to go home! My kids made me promise that we will come back when the resort is not as crowded as this.
I think that Grotto Vista is prepared and ready for a great number of people visiting their resort at this time of the year. They prepared additional entertainment for the guests and there were enough life guards and maintenance people that keeps the place clean all day long. I hope to be visit this resort another time.

Apr 27, 2011

This is the second part of my posts about our Underground River Tour last March 2011 at Puerto Princesa in Palawan. Again, the tour is part of the package that we got from Audissie Pension but you can also arrange for this at any resort there for the same rate of P1500 per person, inclusive of buffet lunch at the beach. This part of the tour is when we were already at the Underground River National Park. Here are some pcitures I took at the park. We actually waited for more than an hour for our turn to ride the paddle boat going inside the river. There were so many tourists and there are limited number of boats that should be inside the river so as not to disturb the ecological balance. The wait was made bearable by the other animals at the park, namely the monkey and lizard.Our tourist guide warned us not to bring food or plastic bags because the monkey will grab them from us and sure enough, one foreigner fell victim to one of the monkeys! The animal grabbed her plastic and ran for it! The lizard below was too big even for me who was used to seeing bayawak as a kid!Then, it was finally our turn to ride the paddle boat. Our boatman was very informative and super hilarious! The ride took more than 30 minutes but it was very exciting! We saw huge and wonderful riock formations in underground river. The river was deep so we had to keep our balance all the time. Too bad my point and shoot camera was not able to take any decent pictures. It was pitch black inside and only the flash light of our boat made us see anything!Here are some random photos I took while waiting. The first one is the brackish water of the river and the next is the entrance to the cave and the beautiful blue boat. The next photo is the opening where the river and the ocean meets and the last one is the serene ocean where our boats were waiting for us!These are official photos taken by the photographer at a cost of P150 each. It was really a very exciting and fun tour and I proud that the Underground River is now one of the finalists on the New 7 Wonders of the World! Please vote for it too!

Apr 26, 2011

Apr 20, 2011

Happy Wednesday everyone! Here are some reasons why I am so happy!1. The 4-day vacation2. which we will spend at our house in Montalban!3. The newly-approved loan which is why we are4. looking for a van. I hope we get a good one with our meager budget!5. Ishi's upcoming 7th birthday6. Planning for the above!7. The kid's entrance exam on Monday8. Ishi will be in big school already.9. Peace of mind10. My family.

Apr 19, 2011

Apr 18, 2011

Both my husband and I do not know how to swim. In fact, learning how to swim is in my bucket list! So it is my wish that my kids learn to swim because I know that is a life skill. During our latest swimming activity last April 10, here are pictures of my husband showing her daughter how to swim. It was so funny because he does not know how to swim but he really wants his daughter to learn!
Here is my eldest son, who swims a little, showing me how this not really just 6 feet deep! I didnt go anywhere near that area, ha ha ha!A tender moment shared between father and daughter.
Happy Mellow Yellow Monday everyone!

Apr 15, 2011

Birthdays are indeed milestones that must be celebrated with joy! And here are just photos of our birthday celebrations over the years. From the top, the first picture is of the cake that I received from my sister for my birthday laste February. The next photo is of my kids during Johann's party and the next is of my sister when she turned 18 last year.The next photo is when Ishi turned 5. She will be turning 7 this year and I have not made any plans yet! The next picture is of my eldest so Drexelle blowing his candles on a cupcake. The next is my mom during her swimming party and the last two are of Danniel when he turned 8 and his birthday party when he was 7. I feel very lucky to be able to celebrate these birthdays and sometimes the celebration is just a simple family dinner. I make sure that my kids feel special during their very special day!

Apr 14, 2011

The Puerto Princesa Baywalk was just at the back of the Audissie Pension Inn where we stayed last month. And during our stay there, we would always walk over there from the pension, either to eat or just walk off the buffet meals we had during the day. It was a perfect way to cap off our city tour! I love this park because it was so laid back and the people you meet are so kind and helpful to tourists like us.You can rent bikes for a minimal fee. There are security guards roaming around. There are families with kids in tow. There are students and barkadas and there are young couples and old people!The peacock lapm post is very beautiful when lighted!

The fish shaped decors at the baywalk.Look at the sea horse design on the sheds.A perfect capture of a very serene scene. Too bad the sun sets on the other side of the baywalk and even worse that I wasnt able to wake up to witness the sun rise!The baywalk looks very beautiful at night with such colorful lghts!And you wont get hungry because there were so many food stalls: from ice scramble to choloate fondue to goto and barbecue! The selection of street food was endless! The first night that we were here, Arnel Pineda had a concert to celebrate a festival. We can hear him from the pension inn, but by that time, we were too tired to go back to the baywalk!Oh, and of course, here are just some souvenirs you can buy at the baywalk.That ends my city tour for Puerto Princesa City. As a review, we went to the Butterfly farm, Mitra's Ranch, Baker's Hill, Crocodile Farm, Iwahig Penal Colony,Immaculate Conception Parish, Plaza Cuartel and the baywalk! Whew, that was a very long but enjoyable day indeed! Cant wait to go back!

Apr 11, 2011

We went to Batangas this weekend and it was a very fruitful time in educating my kids about fruits and trees that they are not familiar with. Since my family loves cashew nuts and I brought home several packs when we came from Palawan, it was very timely that cashew tree in my sister's backyard was in season! Here are some mellow yellow photos of the Kasoy fruit that we took while we were also getting some to eat!Can you remember the old bugtong, "may isang prinsesa, nakaupo sa tasa"? That's her! The princess is the cashew nut.The fruit is very rich in vitamin c and according to my sister's mother in law is a very good cure for ulcer.Did you notice that the fruit is covered with ants? Its a sign that the fruit is sweet! Now my kids know where cashew nuts came from and they also had a chance to eat a new fruit.